A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 eBook

became necessary to tack and bear up to the south,
to look for a passage that way. At noon the southernmost
island bore S.W., distant four miles. North of
this isle were three others, all connected by breakers,
which we were not sure did not join to those we had
seen in the morning, as some were observed in the intermediate
space. Some islands were also seen to the west
of those four; but Rotterdam was not yet in sight.
Latitude 20 deg. 23’ S. longitude 174 deg. 6’
W. During the whole afternoon, we had little wind;
so that at sunset, the southernmost isle bore W.N.W.,
distant five miles; and some breakers, we had seen
to the south, bore now S.S.W. 1/2 W. Soon after it
fell calm, and we were left to the mercy of a great
easterly swell; which, however, happened to have no
great effect upon the ship. The calm continued
till four o’clock the next morning, when it
was succeeded by a breeze from the south. At day-light,
perceiving a likelihood of a passage between the islands
to the north and the breakers to the south, we stretched
in west, and soon after saw more islands, both to
the S.W. and N.W., but the passage seemed open and
clear. Upon drawing near the islands, we sounded,
and found forty-five and forty fathoms, a clear sandy
bottom. I was now quite easy, since it was in
our power to anchor, in case of a calm; or to spend
the night, if we found no passage. Towards noon
some canoes came off to us from one of the isles,
having two or three people in each; who advanced boldly
alongside, and exchanged some cocoa-nuts, and shaddocks,
for small nails. They pointed out to us Anamocka,
or Rotterdam; an advantage we derived from knowing
the proper names. They likewise gave us the names
of some of the other isles, and invited us much to
go to theirs, which they called Cornango. The
breeze freshening, we left them astern, and steered
for Anamocka; meeting with a clear passage, in which
we found unequal sounding, from forty to nine fathoms,
depending, I believe, in a great measure, on our distance
from the islands which form it.

As we drew near the south end of Rotterdam, or Anamocka,
we were met by a number of canoes, laden with fruit
and roots; but as I did not shorten sail, we had but
little traffic with them. The people in one canoe
enquired for me by name; a proof that these people
have an intercourse with those of Amsterdam.
They importuned us much to go towards their coast,
letting us know, as we understood them, that we might
anchor there. This was on the S.W. side of the
island, where the coast seemed to be sheltered from
the S. and S.E. winds; but as the day was far spent,
I could not attempt to go in there, as it would have
been necessary to have sent first a boat to examine
it. I therefore stood for the north side of the
island, where we anchored about three-fourths of a
mile from shore; the extremes of it bearing south,
88 deg. E. to S.W.; a cove with a sandy beach
at the bottom of it S. 50 deg. E.